China's Xiaomi is planning a next-gen phone chip, but won't release one yearly like Apple

Chinese exertion elephantine Xiaomi is readying a caller high-end spot for its smartphones, a apical enforcement astatine the institution told CNBC, but won't merchandise 1 connected a yearly ground similar rival Apple.

Xu Fei, the vice president of Xiaomi, discussed the firm's semiconductor ambitions, giving details astir its roadmap for the product.

Xiaomi's absorption connected processing its ain chips mirrors efforts by apical smartphone makers similar Apple, Samsung and Huawei, arsenic the Beijing-headquartered steadfast looks to grow its stock globally, peculiarly astatine the much costly extremity of the market.

Last year, Xiaomi launched a system-on-chip called the XRing 01 for its ain smartphones. It is based connected a 3 nanometer manufacturing process, 1 of the astir precocious connected the market. A system-on-chip, oregon SoC, is simply a benignant of semiconductor that contains antithetic components that assistance tally a device.

Xiaomi astatine the clip committed to invest astatine slightest 50 cardinal yuan ($7 billion) implicit the adjacent 10 years to make its ain chips.

Xu said that the institution was "planning ahead" for its adjacent procreation of chip, but said she can't committedness it volition merchandise a caller SoC each year.

"We are a a newcomer here, we request to larn and we request to plan," Xu said.

Apple archetypal launched its ain system-on-chips successful 2010 nether the A bid moniker. It has released a caller A bid semiconductor each year, with the latest one, called the A19, featured successful the iPhone 17 models.

Xu revealed the reasoning down Xiaomi's merchandise timeline and however it relates to the company's instrumentality connected investment. There volition beryllium 1 cardinal units of the XRing 01 shipped, Xu said, but Xiaomi volition request to nutrient 10 cardinal units per spot merchandise for it to beryllium a breakeven portion of the business.

"So for us, we cognize we astir apt request to person 10 years patience for the SoC to yet interruption even," Xu told CNBC. "So astatine the archetypal time, we conscionable request to marque definite the acquisition is bully enough, the show is bully enough."

An SoC is simply a captious portion of a smartphone, acting similar the encephalon of the device. Apple has had occurrence designing its ain chips due to the fact that it is capable to person greater power of the integration betwixt its hardware and software.

That means the hardware tin beryllium tailored to much effeciently tally the software, creating a amended acquisition for the user.

Xiaomi has its ain Android-based operating strategy called HyperOS and a suite of artificial quality applications called HyperAI. A custom-made spot for its ain devices could assistance powerfulness this bundle much efficiently.

"It brings successful vertical expertise to supply a tightly integrated acquisition with HyperOS and HyperAI to its ecosystem akin to Apple oregon Google," Neil Shah, spouse astatine Counterpoint Research, told CNBC.

While Xiaomi is simply a large smartphone player, it sells products spanning from smartwatches to atom cookers, refrigerators and electrical vehicles. Developing an SoC for smartphones volition springiness it expertise to make silicon for different products too, Shah said.

Xiaomi's smartphones presently trust connected a operation of chips from U.S. steadfast Qualcomm and Taiwanese institution MediaTek.

The Xiaomi 17 smartphone which was launched this week, for example, features Qualcomm's latest SoC.

Xiaomi's Xu said the institution is going to proceed utilizing Qualcomm and MediaTek products adjacent arsenic it develops its ain semiconductors.

"For Qualcomm, MediaTek, they are super, highly bully partners. We've been moving them for 15 years, truthful we volition proceed this path. And astatine the aforesaid time, we'll prime ... [the] close merchandise to effort our ain chipset. We are going with 2 solutions astatine the aforesaid time," Xu said.

"So we made it precise wide to our partners: don't beryllium excessively disquieted astatine all."